Golf course flag pin and ball retriever means



April 27, 1965 s. w. wlNQuls'r 3,180,644

GOLF COURSE FLAG PIN AND BALL RETRIEVER MEANS Filed May 6, 1963 United States Patent O alsdan'. @GLF CGURSE FLAG HN ANB BALL RETREVER MEANS Sven Wiiliarn Winquist, 13400 Malden St., Apt. 22, Northridge, Calif. Filed May 6, 1963, Ser. No. 278,181 1l Claims. (Cl. 273-34) This invention has to do generally with improvements in golf playing equipment, and has to do particularly with novel means for accomplishing the retrieval of golf balls from playing cups and with inter-related features of cup structures and retrieval devices for removing the balls therefrom.

A general and important object of the invention is to provide for retrieval from the cups of any number of golf balls from 1 to 4, in a manner that will permit protection of the green area immediately surrounding the cup, by obviating any necessity for such close approach to the cup as might otherwise cause, as has been common experience, players cleat or spike disturbances of the turf that would destroy its necessary smoothness for accurate putting. As a corollary, the invention aims to obviate much of the turf upkeep usually required about the cup, resulting from stepping close to the cup edge.

In terms of the devices contemplated, the invention has for its object to provide a retrieval means in association with the conventional flag stick, which will permit a player standing away from the cup, to retrieve by simple manipulation up to four balls which the cup may contain. For this purpose the invention provides for the application to the usual flag stick of Aa circular arrangement of individual ball retrievers so designed as to 'oe capable of fastening upon and holding the balls for elevation out of he cup.

According to preferred embodiments of the invention, the retrieval assembly is made in generally circular or disc form with associated parts essentially in the nature of depending fingers engageable at different locations about the balls and having such spacings as to be capable of fitting about and retaining the balls. As will appear, the ball gripping effect may result primarily from the finger spacings or by the added influence of resilient flexibility given the fingers if desired. Constructed in the manner later explained, the retrieval device has the capacity upon rotation from any initial misalignrnent with the balls, to cause the latter to seek and become individvually retained within the holding configurations of the device.

The invention further contemplates departures from the conventional cup constructions whereby balls entering the cup will be required to assume positions outwardly from its center, compatible with alignability with the retrieving device. In this respect, while providing for centering retention of the flag stick in the cup, the ball-supporting floor in the latter is so designed that in the absence of the stick the balls will assume proper retrievabie positions away from the cup center.

The foregoing as well as additional features and objects ot' the invention as Well as the details of all illustrative embodiments thereof, will be understood more fully from the following detailed description of the accompanying drawing in which:

FiG, l is a View showing the composite retriever and flag stick elevated above the cup placed in a playing green;

FG. 2 is a sectional plan view of the cup bottom, taken y en line 2 2 of FiG. l;

lddd Patented Apr. 27, i965 ICC FIG. 5 is a cross sectional on line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FG. 6 is a fragmentary bottom view showing a variational form of the invention; and

FEU. 7 is a fragmentary section on line 7-'7 of FiG.

Referring first to FIG. l, the retriever ge erally indicated at l0 is shown to be attached to the conventional flag stick ll at a location sufficiently above its lower end to permit accommodationin the later described centered relation, within the cylindrical cup l2 shown to be set down within the playing green i3.

Referring first to the cup structure, the latter is shown to be specially made to assure proper positioning of the balls ld for reception in the retriever lil, by constructing the cup with lan internal ball supporting floor l5 which presents an essentially flat (or somewhat outwardly sloping) surface at the outside of an annnular top sloping boss lo about the central stick-receiving opening l'. The cup may be formed in any desired manner but preferably, though typically, as a unitary casting which provides for water drain openings at i3 with radial reinforcing webs 19 extending from the apertured hub Ztl to the cylindrical wall or" the cup. By reason of the raised configuration at ld, and the essentially flat extent of the door l5 surface, balls dropping into the cup will remain outwardly away from the center opening 17 and in proper position for retrieval.

Referring new to FlGS. lv to 5, the retriever itl is shown to comprise a generally circular or deflected disc-like body El which may be made of any suitable material and by any appropriate forming process. Desirably the retriever body may be made simply and economically as a metallic sheet stamping, die formed to have a central hub 22, see IG. 5, which receives the flag shtick ll in sufficiently tight engagement therewith, or otherwise as by pin 221i, as to assure retention of proper location of the .retriever on the stick. Outwardly from the hub 22, the

metal is deected upwardly and concavely at 23 to form four circularly and equi-angularly arranged receptacles generally indicated at 24 for the balls ld. The tops of the receptacle areas have circular openings 25 which receive the top surfaces of the balls in their illustrated retained positions. The body metal, so formed, has relatively narrow portions 26 radially at the outsides of the openings 2.5, which progressively increase to the full radial extent of the body between the concave indentations 23. As illustrated in FlG. 5, these concave ball receiving indentations may be coined at Z7 until they fit against stick ll and to add stiffness immediately about the stick engaging hub portion 22.

Edge portions 26 continue downwardly at 2S to depending ngers 2L* each of which is positioned between and in such proximity to the concave recesses 23, as to present edges E@ which are brought into engagement with the sides of the balls. The effective spacings of the fingers 29, or more strictly the spacing of their edges 30 'applying to any single ball, are such that as the fingers are pressed down about the balls the finger edges will grip them with suflicient tightness to assure retention of the balls within the body cavities, for elevation out of the cup. If desired, the lingers 29 may be cold metal worked to give them added strength.

Considering the invention in use, the cup l2 may be assumed to contain four balls, although the retriever will operate to engage and retain any lesser number. While standing away from the cup, the player may lower the bottom extent of the flag stick into the cup opening i7 to rest the retriever lt) on the ball surfaces. Initial alignment of the balls with the retriever recesses is of no consequence, because slight rotation of the flag stick will bring the fingers 29 into retaining positions about the balls as shown in FIG. 4, following which the retriever may be pushed down to bring the ngers into retaining engagement with the sides ofv the balls.

FlGS. 6 and 7 illustrate a variational form of the invention employing a four concave cavity retriever body 33 as described, but in which the ball engaging ngers are shown to have been separately formed and attached to the body for resiliently deflective engagement with the balls. Here the ingers 34 are shown to be integrally formed with and to ydepend from flat interconnecting portionsSS of the same stampings, secured to the Yunderside of the body by fasteners 36 or in any other suitable manner. To prevent injury to the flexible ngers, the body may be formed with segmental flange guards 37 depending at t'ne outsides of the iingersto protect them against damaging encounters.

I claim:

1. A device for retrieving golf balls from a playing cup havingV an internal lower surface receptive of as many as four balls about the cup axis, comprising the combination of a ag stick insertable centrally through said surface of the cup, and a retainer attached centrally to the stick and .presenting equi-angularly about the stick plural ball receptacles each defined by spaced downwardly eX- tending fingers adapted to be pressed downwardly against and in holding engagement with the sides or plural balls.

2. The combination of claim 1, in which said retainer has spaces for accommodating the top portions of the balls above the locations of ball engagement by said iingers.

3. The combination of claim 2, in which said spacesy are formed by openings extending through the retainer.

4. The combination of claim l, in which the body of said retainer is ot essentially circular sheet material from which said fingers depend near the periphery thereof.

5. The combination of claim 4, in which said iingers are downwardly bent portions of said sheet material and,

are adapted to retain four balls between them,

6. The combination of claim 5, in Vwhich said iingers are attached to and depend from said body and are reysiliently spreadable to receive the balls.

7. The combination of claim 4, inlwhich said body contains openings for accommodation of the top portions of the balls above and at the inside of the locations of ball engagement 'byV said fingers.

8. The combination of claim 4, in which said fingers aro downwardly bent portions of said sheet material which contains ball receiving openings defined by annular concavely curved under surfaces of the sheetrmaterial.

9. rthe combination of claim 1, in which balls initially rnisaligned with said receptaclesy are registerable to retainable positions between the iingers by rotation of the retainer upon the balls.

10. VThe combination of claim 9, in which said retainer is positioned above the lower end of'theag stick to permit rotation of the retainer with the stick receivedin a bottoni aperture in the cup. Y

11. The combination of the device of claim 1, with a playing cup of cylindrical open top form containing spaced above .the bottom of the cup a transverse floor having a ball receiving surface centrally apertured to pass downwardly the lower `end of the flag. stick to the bottom of the cup, said surface being generally dat but centrally raised about itsV aperture to assure displacement of balls outwardly from the aperture when the stick is removed and to positions of accessibility bysaid retrieving device.

References Cited by tire Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,291,067 1/19 Michael 273-34 2,l21,270 6/38 Streich 2,73--35 X 2,461,386. 2/49 Matheny 273-34 2,661,883 12/53 Francisco 29d-#50.7 X 2,738,214 3/56 Zimmers 294-19 2,801,875 8/57 McEvoy 294-19 DELBERT B. Lowa, Primary Examiner.

ERNEST A. FALLER, Examiner, 

1. A DEVICE FOR RETRIEVING GOLF BALLS FROM A PLAYING CUP HAVING AN INTERNAL LOWER SURFACE RECEPTIVE OF AS MANY AS FOUR BALLS ABOUT THE CUP AXIS, COMPRISING THE COMBINATION OF A FLAG STICK INSERTABLE CENTRALLY THROUGH SAID SURFACE OF THE CUP, AND THE RETAINER ATTACHED CENTRALLY TO THE STICK AND PRESENTING EQUI-ANGULARLY ABOUT THE STICK PLURAL BALL RECEPTACLES EACH DEFINED BY SPACED DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING FINGERS ADAPTED TO BE PRESSED DOWNWARDLY AGAINST AND IN HOLDING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE SIDES OF PLURAL BALLS. 